As a sustainable design expert who is now partnering with James Cronan on a new project called the Sustainable Future Group, Marlon Kobacker is quite aware of the most recent developments shaping the industry in which he has thrived for so long. While Kobacker is keenly aware of the many ways new sustainable technology and design can make it easier for consumers to make environmentally friendly choices in just about every endeavor they pursue, it is also an unfortunate truth that many of those same consumers are simply unaware of what is now available to them.

According to the recently released Sustainable Travel Report, the travel industry is in need of generating greater awareness of how consumers can make their vacation plans with sustainability in mind. The study indicated that the primary reason travelers did not make the choice to stay in eco-friendly and sustainably designed accommodations was due to nothing more than a simple lack of awareness. It should be clear to the travel industry that making sustainable accommodations available is a step in the right direction, but the increased availability will not yield the intended result without an effective marketing campaign in place.

Kobacker, a longtime proponent of the need for significant progress in sustainable design implementation across all industries, felt that one of the more notable aspects of the Sustainable Travel Report concerned the lack of any standard definition regarding the term “sustainable” as it is applied to travel. Through educational efforts carried out by the travel industry and other groups, the public can become better informed on all aspects of sustainable travel while also learning that eco-friendly accommodations are not necessarily more expensive or less luxurious. As many have pointed out already, the opposite is actually more likely to be true.